Boundary-Spanning Search for Knowledge, Knowledge Reconstruction and the Sustainable Innovation Ability of Agricultural Enterprises: A Chinese Perspective

Kaifeng Duan, Changcheng Zhang, Junqiang Li, Rui Zhang and Yanwei Zhang
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Kaifeng Duan: School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Changcheng Zhang: School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Junqiang Li: School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Rui Zhang: Land Satellite Remote Sensing Application Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100048, China
Yanwei Zhang: School of Tourism and Urban Management, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang 330032, China

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: Boundary-spanning search for knowledge is an effective way for enterprises to acquire heterogeneous knowledge, and is also an important pre-stage to realize effective knowledge reconstruction. Based on the boundary-spanning search for knowledge theory, this paper studies the relationship between boundary-spanning search for knowledge and the sustainable innovation ability of agricultural enterprises considering the influence of organizational knowledge reconstruction, from a Chinese perspective. A questionnaire survey on agricultural enterprises mainly from Southeast China is conducted, and the hierarchical regression analysis method is utilized to verify five research hypotheses. The results mainly show that (1) boundary-spanning search for technology knowledge (BSSTK) and boundary-spanning search for market knowledge (BSSMK) both have a significant positive impact on the sustainable innovation ability of an agricultural enterprise; (2) organizational knowledge reconstruction plays a partial intermediary role between boundary-spanning search for knowledge (including BSSTK and BSSMK) and the sustainable innovation ability of an agricultural enterprise. From the perspective of boundary-spanning search for knowledge, this paper provides theoretical support for the promotion of sustainable innovation of an agricultural enterprise, which contributes to improving the economic sustainability of agriculture to some extent.

Keywords: boundary-spanning search; knowledge reconstruction; sustainable innovation; agricultural enterprise; agricultural sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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